During the Second War, the sisters auditioned successfully to take part in an advertising campaign for the
malt drink Ovaltine. They met
Glenn Miller who, shortly before his disappearance, offered them the opportunity to record with members of his orchestra. then followed up on BBC Radio's
Variety Bandbox. Immediately after the war they toured with
Eric Winstone and his Orchestra, and began making regular appearances on the BBC's early television programmes. They also performed for
NBC in the US with surviving members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After their return to Britain, promoter
Val Parnell booked them to appear at the
London Palladium with
Gracie Fields, although Fields refused, without explanation, to appear with them. The following year they performed with
Danny Kaye. The BBC gave them their own television series, initially called
Three Little Girls on View, but later renamed as
Those Beverley Sisters, which ran for seven years and on which they gave
live performances of popular songs of the day. In 1951, they signed a recording deal with the UK
Columbia record label, later moving to the
Philips and
Decca labels before returning to Columbia in 1960. Their biggest hits on the
UK singles chart were versions of "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (no. 6, 1953) and "
Little Drummer Boy" (no. 6, 1959), which were both
Christmas hits. Generally preferring live
cabaret and television appearances over recording work, In January 1961, they appeared on the radio show,
Desert Island Discs. They also appeared on the television show
Stars on Sunday. The trio were the subjects of
This Is Your Life in 1969, when they were surprised by
Eamonn Andrews. In 1977, they appeared on the BBC TV's long running variety show
The Good Old Days. Their career was revitalised in the 1980s, after their children – who had begun performing together as the Foxes – invited them onstage at the
London Hippodrome, encouraged by club owner
Peter Stringfellow. A review in
The Stage in March 1985 described the Sisters when appearing in Stringfellow's Hippodrome cabaret as "clad in shimmering pink" and said they had "acquired a glamour and universality that only time and experience can produce". The sisters began performing again for British troops, as well as in
gay clubs in Britain, and they produced a new album,
Sparkle. The Beverley Sisters performed as part of the
Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, and toured with
Max Bygraves that year, the 50th anniversary of their appearance at the Royal Variety Performance. They also took part in the
D-Day 60th anniversary memorial concerts in 2004. As late as 2009, the sisters appeared in concerts and matinee shows in the United Kingdom. They forged links with the
Burma Star Association, as well as
McCarthy & Stone, where the sisters were invited to open each new housing development designed specifically for retired people. They later fully retired and lived near each other in
Barnet. ==Personal lives and honours==